SOUTHPORT, United Kingdom (AFP) — Rory McIlroy remained hopeful he can recover from shooting two over par after his opening round of the British Open that left the Masters champion seven shots off the lead.

In a rollercoaster round at Royal Birkdale, McIlroy bogeyed both par threes on the front nine and then dropped a shot at both par fives on the back nine among six bogeys in total.

Four birdies, including one at the last after a sensational second shot, ensured his quest for a first British Open in 12 years did not end on day one.

“Just too many stupid mistakes. But every time I made a stupid mistake, thankfully I made a birdie to sort of keep myself in it,” said the Northern Irishman.

“Not too far away. Hopefully we’ll get the better conditions tomorrow and maybe the greens are a little bit smoother in the morning.

“Go out there and shoot a good one and get myself right back in it for the weekend.”

McIlroy missed three putts inside five feet (1.5m) and admitted his confidence was rocked early on by misses at the fourth and seventh.

“I missed a couple early on that looked like they were going to break one way and they actually went another way, and then when you get the next one, you’re over it and it’s just very hard to trust that the ball is going to do what you think it’s going to do,” McIlroy added.

“Then you maybe don’t make quite as committed of a stroke.

“It seems like when it gets like that on a day like today, you just keep leaving yourself four-footers.

“Then I missed three four-footers in the space of four holes, and that’s tough to get out of that and stay committed to what you’re trying to do on the greens.”

However, he was among the later starters who endured the worst of the conditions as the wind picked up and further dried out a firm course after precious little rain in recent weeks.

That misfortune is set to be reversed for similar conditions on Friday with McIlroy and playing partners Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele among the morning starters at 10.09 am (0909GMT).